World Netball announces international competition ban for transgender players

World Netball has announced a ban on transgender players in international competition with immediate effect under a new participation and inclusion policy.

As reported by the Reuters news agency, the global governing body of what has traditionally been, and remains at an international level, a women's sport said it had undergone a lengthy consultation before issuing the policy.

In a statement released on Monday, World Netball (WN) advised "following detailed review of the science and consultation with experts and members, it has determined that international level women's netball is a gender-affected activity and that a policy is required (to) ensure fairness and safety at this level of our sport.

"World Netball believes that the research on which it has relied is robust, it comprises many research studies, all of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals and come from multiple distinct research groups around the world."

The statement also said that the policy was based upon current evidence that "strongly suggests there is retained physical advantage following the suppression of testosterone levels in those that have experienced the biological advantages of testosterone at any time in life."

The only exception for transgender athletes was for those who could "establish to WN's satisfaction that they have not experienced the biological effects of testosterone at any time".

The move follows international governing bodies for cricket, cycling, athletics, swimming and chess have all tightened their participation rules for transgender athletes in elite women's competitions over the past couple of years.

The netball policy pertains only to international competition and World Netball said national governing bodies could choose to "modify or even not apply these guidelines" if they decided to base their participation rules on other factors.

Critics of transgender inclusion in women's sport say going through male puberty imbues athletes with a huge musculo-skeletal advantage that transition does not mitigate.

LGBTQI advocacy groups say excluding trans athletes amounts to discrimination and that not enough research has been done into the impact of transition on athletic performance.

Advising that it will review the policy on an annual basis, World Netball added that it “is committed to evidence-based decision making and commits to evaluating any emerging evidence that pertains to elements of the policy.

"This includes any high-quality research that is published, and which will inform a formal review of the policy."